This invention refers to a preparation for veterinary use, and more specifically to a preparation suitable for ear hygiene and for the prevention of otitis in dogs and cats.
External otitis is one of the main reasons for veterinary visits and, according to different authors, it represents between 10 and 20% of visits to small animal clinics. It is more frequent in dogs than in cats because of the different shape of the ear pavilion and habits such as ear licking in cats.
The importance of otitis lies in its high incidence, in the potential seriousness of a process that initially affects the outer ear but that frequently affects the middle ear, in the ease with which relapses, usually due to incomplete or unsuitable treatment, occur, and its multi-factorial aetiology, because the infection that follows the inflammation is usually due to several types of micro-organism present at the same time, such as bacteria, fungi and mites.
xe2x80x9cEar cleaningxe2x80x9d products are well known. As their name implies, they are only cleaning products, and do not consider such important aspects as asepsis in their application, bactericide activity and yeast control (malassezia), and they are not complete formulas that clean, soften wax and remove yeasts and certain pathogens.
The main disadvantages of currently known veterinary ear products are as follows:
a) Most of these currently known ear products are merely acidifying solutions or cerumenilytic solutions.
b) Other known products do not completely remove organic matter and fats and soften wax. Their cerumenilytic activity is not usually successful.
c) They do not control malassezia levels.